Paying for Votes--for a Good Cause

Members who vote in the board elections of Conexus Credit Union, Regina, Saskatchewan, are not only exercising their democratic rights as owners but also supporting a worthy community cause. This year, the credit union donated $1 for every vote cast to the Saskatchewan Cooperative Youth Program.

In addition to connecting the board election to the CU's commitment to community, Conexus CU offers electronic voting through its online banking channel and has engaged in intensive recruiting of director candidates, says CUES member Jacques DeCorby, EVP/marketing and communications for the $6.5 billion credit union serving 118,000 members.

In one of five districts, the credit union fielded eight candidates for two board seats in 2014. The wide choice generated a lot of interest, especially since Conexus CU posts candidate profiles online so members can make a more informed choice, DeCorby notes.

Encouraging participation in board elections is ingrained in the credit union DNA, he suggests. "It's part of what makes us different, one of our democratic principles."

The strategies employed by Conexus CU coincide with several best practices identified to enhance voter turnout, says Charles Dahan, research director with Votenet Solutions, Washington, D.C., CUES' partner in CUES eVote.

Dahan offers these additional recommendations:

• Rely on the "networking effect." Ask well-known and respected people connected to your credit union to remind their peers to vote. These personal appeals may help emphasize the member/owner relationship.
• "Gamefy" turnout efforts. When organizations track and announce vote counts by some affiliation-by state, geographic region, or year of graduation, for example-members may turn out to support their group. Especially in larger organizations where members may feel they are one of too many to count, emphasizing more close-knit subgroups can reinforce the sense of belonging, Dahan says.
• Make voting easy. Online voting removes geographic and time barriers, and the option of voting via mobile device is especially appealing to younger members. And when the online system is set up so voters have the opportunity to confirm their choices before signing off, they have added peace of mind that their votes have been registered accurately, he notes.

Conexus CU's offer of a donation is one of the best ways to increase participation, especially in combination with other strategies, he adds. "If I get an email that's well designed, makes it easy to respond, and comes with an endorsement-and on top of that, they're going to donate to a good cause if I vote, I'm definitely going to take the two minutes to do that."

Karen Bankston is a long-time contributor to Credit Union Management and writes about credit unions, membership growth, marketing, operations and technology. She is the proprietor of Precision Prose, Stoughton, Wis.